I grew up in Tempe, Arizona and I am the youngest of four boys. My mother often felt outnumbered with all the men in the family, and she is convinced that the gold fish was a boy too! As you can imagine growing up in a house of boys there was plenty of wrestling, sports, and time spent explaining to mom how the wall got a new hole or why we were having a squirt gun fight with dad in the house. It still continues today, at family Sunday dinners I am often found wrestling with my nephews as they dive off the couch onto me. My mom stayed at home and spent a great deal of time with us, helping with homework and was always there to talk. Each night we would have family dinner together and discuss our days, a tradition I plan on continuing. My father is a civil engineer and would often discuss what he was doing at work; little did they know this simple family time would teach me basic principles I use each day as I work for an engineering firm. I spend most days taking blueprints and turning them into digital 3D models for public meetings and reports; basically I make pictures of things that are not built yet. I claim it as my job but it’s really mostly play. The people at my office claim I have the “fun job.” I love learning new things, and my work allows me to do that. My job also provides opportunity to travel and take photos at some interesting places like the inside passage in Alaska or remote areas of the Oregon Trail. Additionally I recently had the opportunity to teach at a conference in Vancouver BC, Canada. I enjoy traveling but I am blessed that I don’t travel often; I would miss Rene too much. We both like to play softball, going to the movies, and talking about politics, but my favorite thing to do is spend time with Rene; she is my best friend.
